A US investigation has revealed that Chinese officials knew for four years that a pilot deliberately crashed a Boeing 737, killing all 132 people on board.
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashed into a mountain in Guangxi at 350 mph after the captain deliberately brought the plane down, newly revealed data shows.
According to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the tragic collision on March 21, 2022, occurred when one of the three airmen on board the plane shut down both engines and disengaged the autopilot.
Flight recording of the bombing shows two pilots Wrestling for control of the plane, before one of them finally managed to push the jet into the nosedive.
The plane was traveling close to the speed of sound when it crashed.
Despite growing outrage from victims’ families and the public, Beijing has failed to release an official report on the aviation disaster.
air attack
Horrific moment, plane carrying 221 passengers collides with pole and truck as soon as it lands
Flash point
China rejects Trump’s blockade of strait as sanctioned tanker passes through
Repressive Chinese authorities claimed last year that releasing information related to the disaster could “endanger national security and social stability”.
The recorders of Flight 5735 have now been decoded by the NTSB, which revealed their contents on Thursday.
The report said: “It was found that while traveling at an altitude of 29,000 feet, the fuel switches on both engines moved from the run position to the cut-off position.”
It states: “Engine speed reduced following fuel switch movement.”
Control inputs and jet movement graphs show that one of the pilots tried to push the plane into a deep ditch, while the other tried to stop it.
The two airmen took off wildly in opposite directions, struggling to gain control of the packed plane.
The voice recording also captured a conversation between the two pilots in the moments before their deaths.
But the NTSB did not reveal what exactly was said — saying only that it had sent a transcript to Beijing.
horror Footage taken from the ground shows the huge jet falling vertically.
No radio Calls or emergency radar codes were made by the crew.
An alleged cover-up by Chinese authorities includes local media reports that all systems were operating normally in the moments before the tragedy.
An American investigator told The Wall Street Journal two months after the crash that the plane “did exactly what someone in the cockpit told it to do”.
Hardline Chinese officials censored the WSJ report from social media – removing screenshots and hiding allegations of a murder-suicide by the pilot.
There were three pilots on the flight deck at that time.
Captain Yang Hongda, 32, First Officer Zhang Zhengping, 59, and Second Officer Nie Gongtao, 27, are in training.
Zhang, one of the airline’s most experienced pilots, was recently demoted from his captaincy in early 2022.
Speculations about an alleged murder-suicide center on him.
Reports say that deliberate crashing has proven to be one of the leading causes of aircraft accidents in recent years.
According to Bloomberg report, it was the second most common cause of deaths on aircraft from 2011 to 2020.
it comes after vayu India Last year, 260 people died in the crash of Flight 171 after taking off from Ahmedabad to London.
Preparing to release a report next Last month, previous experts had claimed that the crash was caused by deliberate actions of the pilot.
Indian officials have rejected claims that the crash was caused by a murder-suicide of the pilot.
